Technical Abstract:
In order to implement a zero tolerance for pathogens in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, quantitative information is necessary to show that any processing schedule meets the lethality performance standard. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of steam pasteurization on reducing Salmonella Senftenberg and Listeria innocua contamination of fully cooked and packaged chicken products. Fully cooked chicken breast strips were surface-inoculated to contain 9 log10(cfu/g) of Salmonella Senftenberg or Listeria innocua. The inoculated products were vacuum-packaged in 0.2 mm thick of barrier bags (241 mm x 114 mm) and then steam-pasteurized at 88 C in a continuous process up to 35 min or in a batch process up to 41 min. After the treatments, the products were analyzed for the survivors of Salmonella Senftenberg or Listeria innocua. The predictive models were developed to correlate the surviving rate of Salmonella Senftenberg and Listeria innocua with cooking time for both continuous and batch processes. A cooking time of 34 min was needed to achieve 7 logs of the reduction in a continuous process. In order to achieve the same log reduction, 40 min cooking time was needed in a batch process. The results from this study will be useful for processors to evaluate post-cooking treatment procedures for ready-to-eat poultry products.